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Pry Bar Tips and Tricks
Image from Family Handyman
Through an article in Family Handyman on pry bar tricks, I learned of something called an inflatable pry bar. Maybe this is a tool common to others, but I’d never heard of it, and now I think I need one in my life.
Beginner’s Tips for Using an Oscillating Multi-Tool
I recently broke down and bought my first oscillating multi-tool. If you’re also new to this strange-looking type of tool, here are 20 basic tips for getting more out of it. I especially agree with the tip about buying cheap accessories first, finding out which ones you use most often, and then investing in better quality versions. That’s what I did. Here’s a follow-up video on sharpening multi-tool blades. And the Project Farm video he refers to on the best multi-tool blades (TL;DR: Get the EZARC blades, $7.60 each in pack of 3).
Great Collection of Sewing Tips
I am working on a special project that has me going through the archives of Makezine.com. In doing so, I’m unearthing some gems, like all of the sewing tips that were posted over the years by Haley Pierson-Cox and others. Sewing is one of those foundational DIY skills that everyone should at least know the basics of (both hand and machine sewing).
Using a Hobby Polishing/Sanding Tool to Smooth 3D Prints
I have long been a huge fan of the Mr. Hobby Polisher Pro sanding tool. This is a simple (and a bit overpriced) battery-operated disc polisher/sander sold to the hobby market for sanding off sprue material and finishing models. It’s basically an electric toothbrush with a sanding disc head. The Polisher Pro comes with 3 sheets of sanding pads in 600, 800, and 1000-grit. There are 45 pads in all. I’ve had my tool for several years now, use it often in game modeling, and still have plenty of pads left. There are also replacement sanding pads available on Amazon (and there are pads available in other grits). This video introduces a use I hadn’t thought of: sanding layer lines and joins in resin and FDM 3D prints. The video doesn’t have a lot of content beyond that basic idea, but I was happy to discover another use for a tool I already own. I know many will say: Just use a Dremel tool! You can if you have a mini Dremel, but for modeling, this tool is better sized and not as aggressive as a Dremel. And, don’t be like the guy in the video. Always wear a mask when sanding resin and plastic.
The Creative Process in a Nutshell
1. This is awesome 2. This is tricky 3. This is shit 4. I am shit 5. This might be OK 6. This is awesome
This was posted on film/theater director Marcus Romer’sTwitter feed. This is a riff (to put it kindly) of an original list by Kazu Kibuishi. I like the above saltier expression of the idea, but your mileage may vary.
TOYS! Carhartt Work Shirts
For years, I’ve seen other people wearing Carhartt work shirts and for some reason never thought of buying one myself. I recently bought two, one in charcoal and one in denim blue. Man, do I like these shirts! Super well-made, comfortable, nice fabric, rugged, and good looking. And I love the pencil/pen slit in the right pocket. I think these shirt will be my go-to garment forever more. Carhartt work shirts are also available in women’s sizes.
Shop Talk
I got the following message from reader John Baglio. I don’t recall such a playlist crossing my transom, but it sounds great. If this rings anyone else’s bells, please message me.
“I was just thinking back over some of the better engineering videos I’ve seen in the past, and I was thinking of a playlist that I thought I saw in one of your newsletters. It was done by an engineer who I think was either Russian or Israeli and it was a whole series of pieces of wisdom for people fabricating parts. One of the things that I remember him saying was design captive hardware whenever possible. I was wondering if you might remember what that playlist was. If so, is there a way you could either send it to me or posted in one of your upcoming newsletters? I remember it being chock-full of amazing advice for fabricating parts.”
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Cool tools really work.
A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. We post things we like and ignore the rest. Suggestions for tools much better than what is recommended here are always wanted.
Check out the website Wplace. It’s a zany collaborative futuristic art project happening around the world, mostly created by young people. Like its predecessor r/place, Wplace lets people paint a single pixel at a time. But everyone layers the art over Google maps and most folks start with painting over their neighborhood. And like r/place, you can repaint over other art. So in order to make any kind of a picture large requires an incredible amount of coordination and collaboration with others – and any art produced must be fiercely maintained in order to remain. The ambience is true folk art – the lowest common denominator of anime characters, memes, sports brands, political flags, logos, graffiti, and creative patterns. Surprisingly the parts of the globe most densely painted in its first month are not silicon valley but Brazil and Germany. And you may have trouble getting a chance to paint pixels because its servers are overwhelmed. This weird global emergent collab happening feels like a hint of art from the future. — KK
Fringe news feed
The Daily Grail front page is my news source for all things weird and fringe science—from papers on consciousness studies and paranormal research to new discoveries in neuroscience, quantum physics, and strange archaeological finds. Most briefs come from mainstream, credible outlets, but the curation makes me feel like a kid reading Weekly World News in the checkout line or living inside an episode of The X-Files. Its editorial approach is described as maintaining an appropriate level of skepticism while remaining open to paradigm-shifting ideas. I check it religiously via my Feedly, but daily news items are also posted to Bluesky if you prefer to follow there. — CD
Stream of collective imagination
Midjourney TV is a continuous stream of AI-generated short video art, created by the user community with Midjourney’s recently launched video model. The stream is a hypnotic, mind-expanding glimpse into how humans are using creative AI—and into the collective imagination. I’ve been a Midjourney user since day one and still prefer it for creating imagery from dreams and psychedelic therapy visions. — CD
Self-publishing advice
Because I’ve published a lot of books, both by mainstream publishers and in self-published bestsellers, I frequently get asked for advice by wannabe authors. So I have written up Everything I Know About Publishing and Self-Publishing into a blog post and also packaged in a tidy free 16-page PDF. I end with a flow-chart to navigate through the expanding variety of publishing options available today. — KK
Find books and movies on a map
StoryTerra is a interactive map that links to over 120,000 books, movies, TV shows, and games with their real-world locations and time periods. You can slide through centuries on the timeline, zoom into cities on the map, and discover what stories took place when and where. — MF
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Image from Family Handyman
